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Monday, 4 March 2013

Thorium Based Indian Nuclear Programme

India's Kakrapar-1 reactor is the world's first reactor which uses thorium rather than depleted uranium to achieve power flattening across the reactor core.

India, which has about 25&#37; of the world's thorium reserves, is developing a 300 MW prototype of a thorium-based Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). The prototype is expected to be fully operational by 2011, following which five more reactors will be constructed.

Considered to be a global leader in thorium-based fuel, India's new thorium reactor is a fast-breeder reactor and uses a plutonium core rather than an accelerator to produce neutrons.

As accelerator-based systems can operate at sub-criticality they could be developed too, but that would require more research.[26] India currently envisages meeting 30% of its electricity demand through thorium-based reactors by 2050.

India's plans for Thorium Cycle ::

With about six times more thorium than uranium, India has made utilization of thorium for large-scale energy production a major goal in its nuclear power programme, utilising a three-stage concept:

* Fast breeder reactors (FBRs) using plutonium-based fuel to breed U-233 from thorium. The blanket around the core will have uranium as well as thorium, so that further plutonium (particularly Pu-239) is produced as well as the U-233.

* Advanced heavy water reactors burn the U-233 and this plutonium with thorium, getting about 75% of their power from the thorium. The used fuel will then be reprocessed to recover fissile materials for recycling.

This Indian programme has moved from aiming to be sustained simply with thorium to one 'driven' with the addition of further fissile uranium and plutonium, to give greater efficiency. In 2009, despite the relaxation of trade restrictions on uranium, India reaffirmed its intention to proceed with developing the thorium cycle.

Another option for the third stage, while continuing with the PHWR and FBR stages, is the use of subcritical accelerator driven systems.

Kakrapar Atomic Power Station

The nuclear power station Kakrapar (also Kakrapar Atomic power station or CAPE) is a nuclear power station in India, it lies in the proximity of the city Surat in the Federal State Gujarat.

It consists of two 220 MW pressurized water reactors with heavy water as moderator (PHWR). KAPS-1 went critical on 3 September 1992 and began commercial electricity production a few months later on 6 May 1993.

KAPS-2 went critical on 8 January 1995 and began commercial production in September 1995. In January 2003 the CANDU Owners Group (COG) distinguished KAPS-1 as the worldwide best PHWR of its class. The construction costs originally were estimated to be 3.8252 billion Rupees, the plant was finally finished at a price of 13.35 billion Rupees to have cost.

Other than the plant there is also a plant for producing heavy water in the area (Kakrapar Heavy Water Upgrade).

The Nuclear power station Kakrapar (also Kakrapar Atomic power station or CAPE) is a nuclear power station in India, it lies in the proximity of the city Surat in the Federal State Gujarat.

It consists of two 220 MW pressurized water reactors with heavy water as moderator (PHWR). KAPS-1 went critical on 3 September 1992 and began commercial electricity production a few months later on 6 May 1993.

KAPS-2 went critical on 8 January 1995 and began commercial production in September 1995. In January 2003 the CANDU Owners Group (COG) distinguished KAPS-1 as the worldwide best PHWR of its class. The construction costs originally were estimated to be 3.8252 billion Rupees, the plant was finally finished at a price of 13.35 billion Rupees.

India's Kakrapar-1 reactor is the world's first reactor which uses thorium rather than depleted uranium to achieve power flattening across the reactor core.

India, which has about 25% of the world's thorium reserves, is developing a 300 MW prototype of a thorium-based Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR). The prototype is expected to be fully operational by 2011, following which five more reactors will be constructed.

Considered to be a global leader in thorium-based fuel, India's new thorium reactor is a fast-breeder reactor and uses a plutonium core rather than an accelerator to produce neutrons.

As accelerator-based systems can operate at sub-criticality they could be developed too, but that would require more research. India currently envisages meeting 30% of its electricity demand through thorium-based reactors by 2050.

Australia and India have particularly large reserves of thorium. India and Australia are believed to possess about 300,000 metric tonnes each; i.e. each country possessing 25% of the world's thorium reserves. However, in the OECD reports, estimates of Australian's Reasonably Assured Reserves (RAR) of Thorium indicate only 19,000 metric tonnes and not 300,000 tonnes as indicated by USGS.

The two sources vary wildly for countries such as Brazil, Turkey, and Australia. However, both reports appear to show some consistency with respect to India's thorium reserve figures, with 290,000 metric tonnes (USGS) and 319,000 metric tonnes (OECD/IAEA). Furthermore the IAEA report mentions that India possesses two thirds (67%) of global reserves of monazite, the primary thorium ore. The IAEA also states that recent reports have upgraded India's thorium deposits up from approximately 300,000 metric tonnes to 650,000 metric tonnes. Therefore, the IAEA and OECD appear to conclude that Brazil and India may actually possess the lion's share of world's thorium deposits.

According to Atomic Energy Commission Chairman Anil Kakodkar, power potential from thorium reactors is very large and the availability of Accelerator Driven System (ADS) can enable early introduction of thorium on a large scale.

Indigenous design of Thorium based reactors is complete. India is again proud to proclaim that Indian nuclear scientists are ready to create alternative nuclear energy for India based on abundance of Thorium available in India.

India unveiled before the international community its revolutionary design of 'A Thorium Breeder Reactor' that can produce 600 MW of electricity for two years 'with no refuelling and practically no control manoeuvres.'

Designed by scientists of the Mumbai-based Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, the ATBR is claimed to be far more economical and safer than any power reactor in the world.

Most significantly for India, ATBR does not require natural or enriched uranium which the country is finding difficult to import. It uses thorium -- which India has in plenty -- and only requires plutonium as 'seed' to ignite the reactor core initially.

Eventually, the ATBR can run entirely with thorium and fissile uranium-233 bred inside the reactor (or obtained externally by converting fertile thorium into fissile Uranium-233 by neutron bombardment).

BARC scientists V Jagannathan and Usha Pal revealed the ATBR design in their paper presented at the week-long 'international conference on emerging nuclear energy systems' in Brussels. The design has been in the making for over seven years.

According to the scientists, the ATBR while annually consuming 880 kg of plutonium for energy production from 'seed' rods, converts 1,100 kg of thorium into fissionable uranium-233. This diffrential gain in fissile formation makes ATBR a kind of thorium breeder.

The uniqueness of the ATBR design is that there is almost a perfect 'balance' between fissile depletion and production that allows in-bred U-233 to take part in energy generation thereby extending the core life to two years.

This does not happen in the present day power reactors because fissile depletion takes place much faster than production of new fissile ones.

BARC scientists say that "the ATBR with plutonium feed can be regarded as plutonium incinerator and it produces the intrinsically proliferation resistant U-233 for sustenance of the future reactor programme."

They say that long fuel cycle length of two years with no external absorber management or control manoeuvres "does not exist in any operating reactor."

The ATBR annually requires 2.2 tonnes of plutonium as 'seed'. Althouth India has facilities to recover plutonium by reprocessing spent fuel, it requires plutonium for its Fast Breeder Reactor programme as well. Nuclear analysts say that it may be possible for India to obtain plutonium from friendly countries wanting to dismantle their weapons or dispose of their stockpiled plutonium.

The rabbit can accommodate samples with a maximum weight of 3g. The activation analysis laboratory also contains a fumehood for wet chemical operations and a high resolution gamma spectrometry system for assay of short lived nuclei. Nuclei with longer half lives are assayed in the Radiochemistry Laboratory. Samples of larger dimensions or higher weights can be irradiated in the two thimble locations in the north and south side of the core.

The Indian Marvel : FBTR Reactor

The Fast Breeder Test Reactor (FBTR) first reached criticality in October 1985. The Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR) and Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) jointly designed, constructed, and operate the reactor.

The FBTR is a liquid metal fast breeder reactor based on the French "Rapsodie" design. The reactor uses a plutonium-uranium mixed carbide (MOX) fuel and liquid sodium as a coolant. The fuel is an indigenous mix of 70 percent plutonium carbide and 30 percent uranium carbide. Plutonium for the fuel is extracted from irradiated fuel in the Madras power reactors and reprocessed in Tarapur.

The reactor was designed to produce 40MW of thermal power and 13.2MW of electrical power. The FBTR has rarely operated at its designed capacity and had to be shutdown between 1987 and 1989 due to technical problems. From 1989 to 1992 the reactor operated at a mere 1MWt. In 1993, the reactor's power level was raised to 10.5 MWt.

The initial nuclear fuel core used in the FBTR consisted of approximately 50kg of weapons-grade plutonium. In September of 2002, fuel burn up in the FBTR for the first time reached the 100,000 megawatt-days per metric ton uranium (MWd/MTU) mark. This is considered an important milestone in breeder reactor technology. Using the experience gained from the operation of the FBTR, the center is designing and preparing a site for construction of a 500MWe Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR).

The Reactor Research Centre set up at Kalpakkam, India, 80kms south of Chennai in 1971 under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was renamed Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research (IGCAR) in 1985.

Thorium :: The Ultimate Energy Source For India

omi Jehangir Bhabha, an Indian physicist, who had, during a pre-World War II stay in Europe, made important discoveries about cosmic rays. Upon his returned to India at the start of the war, he began to campaign for Indian research institutions deveoted to physics and nuclear energy. He quickly established himself as a scientist politician who had the ear of Pandit Nerhu, the first Indian Prime Minister. Shortly after Indian independence in 1948, Bhabha was assigned the task of establishing the Indian Atomic Energy Commission, and developing a nuclear research program.

During the first UN Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy (1955), Bhabha, who was the Conference President, presented a paper on Indian Atomic development. He argued that India lacked energy resources, and in order for the Indian people to have a Western standard of living, Indian electricity must be generated by nuclear means. He noted, “the necessity of obtaining enriched or pure nuclear fuel (plutonium- or uranium-233) for use in future atomic power stations of a more advanced design required the setting up during the next decade of a few atomic power stations designed to produce these materials as well as electric power.”

Bhabha once remarked that “No energy is costlier than no energy”. He was what Texans use to call a wheeler-dealer. He used his position at the The First Conference to obtain British, Canadian and American assistance for the Indian nuclear program. Soon Indian Scientists were showing up at Chalk River, Harwell, and Oak Ridge for on the job training.

In addition to training, during the 1950’s, with American support and Canadian help, India began to construct its first reactor, the heavy water Cirus. What the Americans and Canadians did not notice was that the Cirus was capable of producing weapons grade plutonium.In early 1957, Bhabha summarized his plan for the Indian nuclear energy future,

“It is likely that in the future more advanced and efficient types of atomic power stations will use concentrated atomic fuel, such as uranium-235, uranium-233, or plutonium, rather than the naturally occurring uranium.

If we are not to depend on the import of such fuel from abroad, and not to build a gaseous diffusion plant involving an enormous expenditure and technical effort, it is necessary for us to start producing this fuel now by converting natural uranium into plutonium, and thorium into uranium-233 in atomic reactors. If we are therefore, not to lose further ground in the modern world, it is necessary for us to set up some atomic power stations within the coming five years, which will produce plutonium for our future power reactors, in addition to producing electricity now.”

Bhabha believed that nuclear generated electricity would play an important future role in the Indian economy, and that India possessed only limited Uranium resources. However, India possessed large thorium reserves. Thus Bhabha believed that the Indian nuclear research must be directed toward the development of the thorium fuel cycle. During the 1950’s Bhabha set out a three stage development program for Indian Nuclear technology.

STAGE 1

In the first stage, Heavy water reactors using unenriched uranium derived from India’s limited uranium reserve, would be constructed and begin operating. The use of heavy water reactors meant that India did not need to to develop expensive and power demanding uranium enrichment facilities.

STAGE 2

During the second stage, India was to construct Fast Breeder Reactors, which burned plutonium reprocessed from the spent fuel of the heavy water reactors as well as their depleted uranium. India needed to develop breeder technology quickly, because it had limited uranium resources. Breeders allowed India’s uranium supply to be used much more efficiently.STAGE 3

During the third stage thorium was to be bred, and U-233 would fuel Indian power reactors.

This plan enabled India to boot strap its limited nuclear resources, into a viable nuclear energy program. Of course, along the way, something which Pandit Nehru swore on a stack of Bhagavad Gitas would never happen, did. India used some of Bhabha plutonium to build nuclear weapons. But remarkably fifty years later, India is still following Bhabha’s three stage plan for nuclear power development. The plan is now at the beginning of the third stage.

India has 13 heavy water reactors with 4 more under construction. These Indian reactors are smaller than western commercial power reactors. India also has fuel reprocessing facilities, and a developmental breeder reactor.

A full scale fast breeder (500,000 MW), which will breed both U-238 and Th-232 in a hybrid fuel cycle, is under construction, and is expected to be completed in 2010. A second large thorium fast breeder, the ATGB is already in the planning stage. The KAMINI test reactor is used to test the use of U-233 produced by the Kalpakkam experimental breeder.

A Generation 3+ Thorium fuel cycle Advanced Heavy Water Reactor is also in the planning stage. India plans, by 2020, to have reactors capable of generating 20 GWs of power, most of it using thorium fuel cycle nuclear fuel. Bu 2050, India plans to produce 30% of its electricity from thorium fuel cycle nuclear generating facilities. The Indians believe that their thorium reserve will last them for at least 350 years.

The Indian nuclear program is remarkable in several respects. First, is the depth of Homi Bhabha’s understanding of Indian nuclear resources and the sort of nuclear program that would achieve the maximum benefit from his country.

The second, was the reliance on the relatively simple CANDU technology, during the first development stage and its continued development through all three stages. Reactors were kept small, 220 MW’s, limiting capitol commitment for each reactor. In addition reactor design was given a chance to develop, successive improvements were made as new reactors were designed. Operational experience gave feedback to reactor designers. During the second stage, the full plutonium – thorium – U233 fuel cycle was tested in two small reactors.

Finally, believing that they had mastered all of the individual components of their thorium fuel cycle program, the Indians have set about to build prototypes of commercial reactors that are intended to go into serial production.

They have been faithful to Bhabha’s vision. They have found a way to highly efficient technology, a technology that is far more efficient in its use of nuclear fuel, than the French/American nuclear system by ingeniously mastering and organizing relatively old nuclear technologies, and leveraging them into a fuel efficient system. By doing so they will achieve EROIE’s many times that achieved by Western fuel/reactor systems.

The Indian Thorium fuel cycle system will provide electricity to an enormous country for at least 550 years, from 500,000 tons of fuel. Indian scientists and engineers are on the brink of a significant human accomplishment, the realization of Bhabha vision of bringing nuclear generated electricity to India’s vast population. – Charles BartonIndia : The Exporter of the "Safe" Thorium Reactors

Thorium-fuelled exports coming from India17 September 2009

India has announced intentions to export power reactors to other nations and is developing an advanced design for that purpose.

The head of India's Atomic Energy Commission, Anil Kakodkar, announced yesterday in Vienna a special version of the forthcoming Advanced Heavy Water Reactor (AHWR) adapted to use low-enriched uranium (LEU) fuel.

The long-term goal of India's nuclear program has been to develop an advanced heavy-water thorium cycle. The first stage of this employs the pressurized heavy-water reactors and light water reactors, to produce plutonium.

Stage two uses fast neutron reactors to burn the plutonium and breed uranium-233 from locally mined thorium. The blanket around the core will have uranium as well as thorium, so that further plutonium is produced as well.

In stage three, AHWRs burn the uranium-233 from stage two with plutonium and thorium, getting about two thirds of their power from the thorium.

The first AHWR is meant to start construction in 2012, although no site has yet been announced. A prototype 500 MWe fast neutron reactor being built at Kalpakkam should be complete in 2011.The original design is fuelled by a mix of uranium-233 and plutonium bred from thorium using fast neutron power reactors earlier in a thorium fuel cycle. The LEU variant is suitable for export because it does away with the plutonium, replacing it with uranium enriched to 19.75% uranium-235.

Producing 300 MWe, the unit is less than one third the capacity of a typical large reactor. It is designed to operate for up to 100 years and has a "next generation" level of safety that grants operators three days' grace in the event of a serious incident and requires no emergency planning beyond the site boundary under any circumstances.

The design is intended for overseas sales, and the AEC says that "the reactor is manageable with modest industrial infrastructure within the reach of developing countries."

The new fuel mix, AEC said, produces less plutonium than mainstream light-water reactors and what it does produce contains three times the proportion of plutonium-238, lending it proliferation resistance. Furthermore, it leaves only half the amount of long-lived radioactive waste per unit of energy compared to mainstream light-water reactors.

As well as introducing India as a potential new major player in reactor sales - especially to new markets - the announcement reaffirms India's commitment to proceeding with the thorium fuel cycle using the original AHWR as the final stage.

India was effectively isolated from international nuclear trade from 1992 until early this year when a US-led initiative resulted in special arrangements for India under the Nuclear Supliers Group, based on an India-specific safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Overseas firms can now do business with India, which is keen to import uranium and large power reactors. In turn, India may now offer its goods and services to the wider world.

A Million Thanks to our Dedicated Scientists Who Made it All Possible for Us.Jai Ho.